“Back he went to the supper, rattling the pans and dishes unnecessarily so that his parents knowing that he was home would be more comfortable. Straight thru oyster soup, roast mutton and peach pie he waded. He was just ready to venture on a second cup of coffee when he heard Mary nearing the kitchen door.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
257. INGREDIENTS.--Any remains of cold fish, such as cod or haddock; 2 dozen oysters, pepper and salt to taste, bread crumbs sufficient for the quantity of fish; 1/2 teaspoonful of grated nutmeg, 1 teaspoonful of finely-chopped parsley. _Mode_.--Clear the fish from the bones, and put a layer of it in a pie-dish, which sprinkle with pepper and salt; then a layer of bread crumbs, oysters, nutmeg, and chopped parsley. Repeat this till the dish is quite full. You may form a covering either of bread crumbs, which should be browned, or puff-paste, which should be cut into long strips, and laid in cross-bars over the fish, with a line of the paste first laid round the edge. Before putting on the top, pour in some made melted butter, or a little thin white sauce, and the oyster-liquor, and bake. _Time_.--If made of cooked fish, 1/4 hour; if made of fresh fish and puff-paste, 3/4 hour. _Average cost_, 1s. 6d.
Sources: The passage is from Stephen Rudd, The mystery of the missing eyebrows, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Beeton, The Book of Household Management of 1861, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — slate cloth, oyster stamp.